o2005 On the night of October 24, 1928, Arnold Rothstein was slumped against the service staircase of Room 349 at the Park Central Hotel in Manhattan. A .38 caliber bullet was lodged in his abdomen, and his tuxedo was soaked through with blood. The most powerful gangster in America had just been shot over a card … Read more
Before dawn on November 12, 1941, Abe Reles was sleeping in room 623 of the Half Moon Hotel in Coney Island, Brooklyn, under the protection of five New York City police officers. By 6:30 that morning, his body lay face up on the roof of the hotel kitchen, six stories below his window. Two bed … Read more
Per dieci anni, ogni 14 ottobre, l’uomo più ricco di Cleveland si era recato da solo al cimitero con in mano un’unica rosa rossa. Ma quell’anno, prima che lui arrivasse, qualcun altro era già lì. Un giardiniere stava piangendo accanto alla tomba di sua figlia e accanto a lui c’era una bambina che stringeva un … Read more
In the history of organized crime in New York, the most feared men were rarely the ones whose names appeared in headlines. They were the specialists who worked in quiet rooms and on empty streets, leaving behind little more than a reputation. Among them were figures like Willie "Two Knife" Altieri, Joseph "Mad Dog" Sullivan, … Read more
For decades, the American Mafia operated as one of the most powerful criminal enterprises in the country. But according to former Colombo family captain Michael Franzese, a series of catastrophic missteps helped law enforcement dismantle the life from the inside. Franzese, who now speaks publicly about his years in organized crime, recently laid out what … Read more
Driving from New York City toward Long Island, you pass over the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway just after emerging from the Manhattan tunnel. Directly below lies one of the largest cemeteries in the country: St. John Cemetery in Queens. Few people realize how many former mob figures are buried there. Founded around 1872, the cemetery has been … Read more
Mentre stavo sostituendo un antico specchio a muro nella mia casa storica, non avrei mai immaginato che quel semplice lavoro di manutenzione mi avrebbe rivelato una verità capace di distruggere ogni legame di sangue che credevo di avere. Era un giovedì sera, e la casa, un’imponente dimora vittoriana in un quartiere esclusivo con un’associazione di … Read more
Il momento in cui l’anello di mia figlia è ruotato sul suo dito, ho capito che qualcosa dentro la nostra famiglia si era già rotto, anche se il tacchino era ancora caldo e Daniel Reed mi sorrideva come un uomo che non ha nulla da nascondere. Ventisei anni nell’esercito ti insegnano una cosa sopra tutte: … Read more
Al Capone controlled Chicago. He owned police officers, judges, senators, and union bosses. His organization, the Chicago Outfit, was the most powerful criminal enterprise in America. He took over the North Side by machine-gunning seven men in a garage. He took over Cicero by sending 200 armed men into the streets on election day. He … Read more
The Colombo family has long been regarded as the most warring of the five families in New York. Among the conflicts that shaped it, the Gallo war of the late 1950s and early 1960s stands out as one of the most consequential. The roots of the war lay in the leadership of Joe Profaci, who … Read more